


flavours; (trust)

by aquaticflames



Series: sunset firefly [2]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Anti-vegetable propaganda, Cooking, Fluff, Gen, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Wind is just a kid okay he doesnt appreciate the importance of vegetables yet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-17 20:06:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28854786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aquaticflames/pseuds/aquaticflames
Summary: “It’s not your cooking, it’s just… veggie dishes aren’t assatisfying.”Twilight, close enough to hear, looked affronted. “Hey! Don’t knock them like that, vegetables are good for you Wind.”“But I also need meat, I’m agrowing boy, Twi!”
Relationships: Wild & Wind (Linked Universe)
Series: sunset firefly [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2115921
Comments: 12
Kudos: 218





	flavours; (trust)

**Author's Note:**

> thank you all _so so_ much for the lovely reception I had on the first prompt! ♡
> 
> your comments mean the world to me. :]

There seemed to exist a general consensus amongst the time-hopping heroes; in every era they each came from, the land Hyrule lay on was a pain in the _arse_ to traverse, but the poor Hero of Hyrule himself had to deal with a special brand of nightmare for one main reason.

Wildlife of the non-monstrous variety was incredibly scarce.

Wind sighed pointedly, flopping onto his bedroll. He was _bored_. They’d been dropped into this era a little over a week ago, and had done _nothing_ but slowly carve a path through the general infestation that Hyrule had been forced to deal with during his adventures. The sailor got the general impression that their healer was quite... self-conscious about the state of his country; Hyrule grimaced the moment they’d tumbled into a forest clearing that must've been recognisable to him, and had stammered a warning not to drink _any_ of the water - _‘No, Wind, I mean it! Not unless you want to know what poisoning feels like.’_ \- and quickly ushered them toward a cave with the demeanour of someone wishing they could shrink into their boots.

Everyone had tried to be kind to him about it, but it was growing more obvious each day how exhausted they all were. Wind just wanted a break from cutting down monster after monster, the signature black-blood trail of their adventure following them everywhere - and Wind was beginning to feel stir crazy even though they were always _outdoors_ , which was never a good sign. He just wanted a moment to let his guard down, but there was nothing to do anyway. Not really.

Well, they had anything they could carry across from their own eras. Speaking of which…

“Wild!” Wind sat up quickly, his desperation clearly obvious if the startled look their resident Champion replied with was anything to go by. “You _must_ have something in your slate for us to do! Any cool weapons? Instruments? Books?”

 _"No_ weapons, not in this cave." Time cut in, not even looking up from the letter he was penning, probably to his wife or something gross like that Wind reckoned.

When the sailor received no backup from the others he finished grumbling and turned back to Wild, watching in dismay as the scarred face fell and an apology rose to the tip of his tongue. Wind immediately felt bad for putting him on the spot like that.

“Sorry, Wind - It’s mostly old stuff, or boring tools - and I don't play anything I think?" Their cook's face relaxed though, an idea striking him. "You could help me get started on dinner though, if you want something to keep you busy?”

 _Actually,_ that didn’t sound too bad! And he could probably scrounge snacks as they worked on the food.

“Alright, deal!” Wind couldn’t help the grin that split his face when Wild shot him a grateful smile, waving him towards the fire. Legend and Twilight, sat opposite each other across the flames - reading and carving patterns into a bow, respectively - scooched closer together to make room for the cooking pot Wild had just pulled out.

“What do you feel like making?” Wind watched as their cook summoned chopping boards, spoons and cutting knives from his slate. He’d never get over how _cool_ that always was, the shining blue lights weaving together into something solid and tangible. “I’ve got everything for a stew if that works for you?”

“Oh nice!” 

And they got to work. Wild had given him some carrots and celery to chop, while he sat to one side dicing an onion and hacking into a massive pumpkin. Helping his grandmother chop up veg for their little family's meals was second-nature to him, and while it _wasn’t_ his grandmother beside him like usual, the same warmth spread through his chest at the familiar motions he and Wild were going through together. 

“Nice job," Wild complimented, appraising his diced celery with an approving glint in his eyes. "Lets get it all going over the heat.”

When the cook tossed the veg into the pot, and began cubing some potatoes, realisation struck and Wind felt his face fall.

“Is there no protein today?” He tried his best not to sound ungrateful, but it’d been three days since they’d had anything other than vegetables, and the group was starting to notice. When Wild shook his head apologetically, Wind grew impatient. “But it’s been ages since we’ve had meat, and even then it was just fish!”

“I ran out of red meat and poultry ten days ago, and we ate our last fish the other day. It’s been...” He stole a hesitant glance towards Hyrule - who was napping beside Sky luckily. Wild didn’t want him to start feeling guilty for their hunting misfortune. “...A while, since we were last near any wildlife I could hunt. It’s not like there was much to hunt in Skyloft, either.”

When Wind slumped over with a groan, Wild chuckled, a playful grin gracing his face. “Hey, hey- you’re not saying you _dislike_ my veggie dishes are you?” The older boy clutched the front of his tunic and dramatically feigned wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. “Oh, you _wound_ me so!”

“It’s not your cooking, it’s just… veggie dishes aren’t as _satisfying._ ”

Twilight, close enough to hear, looked affronted. “Hey! Don’t knock them like that, vegetables are _good_ for you Wind.”

“But I also need meat, I’m a _growing boy,_ Twi!”

“Oh, so _now_ you admit you’re a kid, I see how it is!”

“HEY-”

“It’ll be ready in an hour.” Wild interrupted casually, giving the pot one last stir before getting to his feet and carrying the washing-up over to the mouth of their cave, where he’d make less of a mess. For the next hour, Wind alternated between lightly bickering with Legend and Twilight, and allowing Warriors to loosely braid his hair into two plaits that stuck out like insectoid-antennae. Time said he looked like a torch slug, which earned the old man a smack.

Just as his restlessness reached an unbearable peak, the food was declared _ready_.

The stew stared back at Wind, taunting. Confrontational. Daring him to take a bite and be proved right or wrong. _Never_ had he felt so miserable about a dish prepared by Wild, _or_ one that he’d had a hand in making.

“Just _try_ it, kid.” Twilight prodded him in the ribs around his own ludicrous mouthful. “It’s _good,_ c’mon.”

Hyrule was sending their cook grateful smiles between bites, too. "He's right, it's amazing Wild."

"Okay but _you_ two are functionally vegetarian." Wind huffed. The sailor glanced at Wild, hoping to catch him distracted so that he could time his first mouthful for when their cook wasn’t looking, _just in case_ he pulled a face. _Four days of vegetables, come on!_

But Wild was already looking at him, hesitant.

“Just try some?” He plied. “ _Trust_ me, Wind. When have I ever made you a bad meal?”

Okay, he had a point there.

His first mouthful was an _enormous_ surprise. Something rich and smoky lay just beneath the bold flavour of the pumpkin, the potatoes lovely and soft as the warmth of the stew hit his chest in the _best_ way. “Wild, this is _delicious!”_

“Glad you like it.” He looked thoroughly pleased, a flush creeping down his ears at the compliment. “I thought you would. It’s a new take on my old pumpkin stew recipe.”

That piqued the sailor's interest. Wild hadn't added anything new, had he? It had gone totally unnoticed if he had. “What did you add?”

“Chickaloo nuts. I had them roasting on the fire from the start, and added them alongside the potatoes.”

The group finished their meal in high spirits, bowls scraped clean and smiles all around. As Twilight and Legend offered to clean up and pack away, ribbing each other good-naturedly all the while, Wind plonked himself down in front of Wild and slouched back to rest against his chest. The older boy simply shifted his arms to loop overtop Wind's shoulders, scribbling in a battered notebook.

“What you doin’?”

“Making notes of the changes we tried today with the stew.” He said absently, flicking to another page and jotting something down. When Wind stayed silent - stomach full, content and satiated - he glanced down to peer at the journal. “Just a little book of recipes. I like to note them down since I have a history of being… forgetful, sometimes?” 

They both winced.

After a beat Wild's awkwardness bled away and he relaxed again, letting his recipe book fall shut and setting it down to one side. The cover was beaten and battered, and Wind would've bet money on that thing being older than Time. _No,_ he _was_ going to bet money on it. Warriors would indulge him. 

Carefully, the sailor picked up the notebook. The leather binding was old and fraying but clearly well-loved. There was a messy contents page on the inside cover, with hundreds of corrections and the marks from old entries still visible where Wild had rubbed them out in a hurry. Loose notes and idle doodles had been shoved in every so often. Little sketches of a particular dish, ingredient or species of rare animal for an elixir.

Occasionally, Wind flicked past a drawing or two of something unrelated; An annotated drawing of a pretty flower, all sciencey and official-looking on nice quality paper. A rough scribble - old but adored, with watercolours splashed artistically over the lines - of a wolf. It looked rather like Wolfie, Wind decided with a smile, but that couldn't be right. The doodle was much too old, must be a coincidence. 

"I didn't know you could draw!" He praised, running a gentle finger over the wolf's snout. "These are really good."

"T-Thanks," If Wind didn't know better, he'd have thought he caught confusion flitting across the older boy's face - just briefly, as he looked at the old wolf sketch - before it melted into a shy, pleased smile. "-Not all of those are mine though. Look, here..."

He reached over Wind's shoulders with both arms, taking the book from him and holding it where they could both see it as he flicked through for a moment. "-This is where the pumpkin stew recipe was. I add these little improvements whenever I stumble across them."

“I really did like it, y'know. At the end of the day, how can I _not_ like your cooking? You're a wonderchef!”

Wild's smile split across his face, then. Man, Wind _loved_ seeing that smile.

"See, told you to trust me, didn’t I?”

**Author's Note:**

> me, taking my trillionth picture of wolf!twi while messing around in botw, and thinking about 100-year-old sketches that Wild doesn't remember drawing: i just had a wonderful angst idea for a fic that it _totally_ doesn't belong in :)
> 
> also vegetables are GOOD, wind's initial opinions in no way reflect mine.
> 
> thank you for reading! comments are always appreciated. ♡


End file.
